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3.02.2015

My 1.5 year old can put back a lot of meatballs! I had always given him store bought meatballs, but since he eats so many I thought it was time for me to start making them fresh.The recipe below is the first one that I tried and it's absolutely the best! It's so basic and addictively good. The only issue is that it takes quite a while to make these so they aren't good for a weeknight dinner. However, they do freeze well so you can make a few batches ahead of time and enjoy throughout the week. Making two batches of these produced about 75 meatballs (and 2-3 hours of work).Anne Burrell's Excellent Meatball

2.13.2015

I don't remember what motivated me, but a while back I decided to make cupcakes from scratch. It was more work and pricier, initially, but it was so good! Totally worth it. Jump ahead a few years and I made them again for my son's 1st birthday party. I didn't have as much attention/time/care to put into these as I once did, so they didn't turn out as perfect as before, but still very flavorful.Cupcakes and Frostingvia sweetpeaskitchen.comCupcake ingredients:2 1/4 cups cake flour1 cup + 2 Tbs whole milk, at room temperature6 large egg whites (3/4 cup), at room temperature

The original recipe used these as Mardi Gras cupcakes which is how I originally decorated them and they turned out great. I loved the cupcake so much, I decided to try to make these again with a single batter color and added the animal decorations on top (thanks to some Pinterest inspiration). I made and decorated the animal cupcakes the day before and kept them in a plastic container in the basement. However, that ended up being a bad idea. The caramel on the lions ended up melting off and making a big mess and the cookies on the hippos ended up soggy. I do not bake enough to really give advice on how to solve these problems, I just want to let you know that it happened. :)

10.20.2014

Many many years ago, I was asked to bring an appetizer to Easter at my grandparent's house. I don't really know what I was thinking, but I thought I would make a pinwheel but have everything in it to be green. I had no idea how it would turn out, but I wasn't worried. Well, it turned out great (of course it did, otherwise I wouldn't share it with you :))A Snack Shack original, we don't have too many of these!Green Wraps

9.26.2014

I was worried about making these because they seemed too cliche. They contain everything you need - sweet, salty, and crunchy. It was too good to be true. Well, it's true! These are awesome!!They are easy to make, but be careful, you will be asked to make them again!Cookie Dough Bitesslightly addapted from sallysbakingaddiction.com

Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.

In a large bowl using a mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together on medium speed until light and creamy.

Add the milk and vanilla extract and mix until combined.

Turn the mixer off and add the flour and salt.

Mix on low speed at first, then turn the mixer up to medium speed and mix until combined. - Keep mixing until it comes together.

Mix in mini chocolate chips.

Roll the dough into balls, about 2 tsp; it depends how thick you want each dough filling.

Sandwich balls between two pretzels and place on prepared baking sheet.

Freeze for at least 20 minutes. If you are making these ahead of time, stop at this point and continue with the remaining steps on the day you are ready to serve.

While the pretzel bites are chilling, melt the chocolate with the shortening for about 1 minute in microwave, stirring every 20 seconds. If it still seems too thick, add some heavy cream - I melted the chocolate using a double boiler on the stove.

Remove the pretzels from the freezer, and then dip the pretzel bites halfway into the melted chocolate and place bites back on baking sheet.

Refrigerate the dipped bites for at least 10 minutes to allow the chocolate to set.

6.05.2014

I have been eating oyster crackers since I was little. It was one of my favorite party snacks. It's so simple to make, yet I now tend to forget about it and haven't eaten it in a while! So, I was recently thinking of an easy birthday treat to bring into work and then I remembered this!Oyster Crackers1/4 tsp dill weed1/4 tsp garlic powder1/2 tsp lemon pepper1 cup vegetable oil1 packet ranch dressing1 box/bag of oyster crackersCombine all ingredients in a bowl!

2.18.2014

After making my fish fry recipe and pork recipe this week, I had lemon, capers, and dill left over. Using those ingredients and the frozen chicken we always keep in the freezer, I was able to make this awesome lemon chicken recipe.Skillet Lemon Chicken With Capers

1.08.2014

There are some Pinterest pins you see over and over again. Well, this philly cheesesteak recipe was one of them and I finally decided to give it a try. I'm so glad I did because this recipe is really good! It tastes great, and is pretty quick/easy to make! I was even able to make it successfully while tending to my (then) 1 month old.Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppersvia peace love and low carb blog

12.04.2013

I'm not even sure why I decided to make this marshmallow recipe because I don't even like marshmallows.....that is until I made them fresh and added peppermint!! These marshmallows were the perfect consistency and the peppermint was an instant burst of refreshment.Peppermint Marshmallowsvia jun-blog

The top photo is from the original blogand the bottom photos is my attempt

Place the gelatin into the stand mixer along with 1/2 cup of the water. Attach the whisk attachment.

In a small saucepan, combine the remaining 1/2 cup water, granulated sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Place over medium high heat, cover, and allow to cook for 3 to 4 minutes.

Uncover, clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F, approximately 7 to 8 minutes. Once the mixture reaches this temperature, immediately remove from the heat.

Turn the mixer on low speed and, while running, slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture.

Once you have added all of the syrup, increase the speed to high.

Continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and is lukewarm, approximately 12 to 15 minutes.

Add the peppermint extract during the last minute of whipping.

Meanwhile, combine the confectioners’ sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Lightly spray a 13 x 9-inch metal baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.- I used a glass dish

Add the sugar and cornstarch mixture to the baking pan and move around to completely coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Return the remaining mixture to the bowl for later use.

When ready, pour the marshmallow mixture into the prepared pan, using a lightly oiled spatula for spreading evenly into the pan.

Dot the marshmallow across the pan with food coloring and using a fork or toothpick, swirl the food coloring to create a marbleized effect.

Dust the top with enough of the remaining sugar and cornstarch mixture to lightly cover. Reserve the rest for later.

Allow the marshmallows to sit uncovered for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Turn the marshmallows out onto a cutting board and cut into 1-inch squares using a knife dusted with the confectioners’ sugar mixture.

Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining mixture, using additional if necessary.

Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

As you can see above, the final product didn't look very good in the pan. However, once I cut it up into small pieces, it actually looked pretty festive. Not pretty, but festive :)

11.06.2013

As a foodie, a lot of people ask me for recommendations on restaurants and I am glad to give my opinion. However, I've never wanted to add restaurant reviews to my blog. Well, last year I saw an opportunity to be a guest writer for a local restaurant review blog and I thought it would be a lot of fun! To apply for the position I had to write a sample review (300-400 words) - so I decided to write about Crazy Water.Well, the position seemed to have fallen through and I don't want my review to go to waste, so I'm posting it here.Crazy WaterA few years ago I was at William Sonoma talking with one of the workers about which stick blender I should buy. After chatting for maybe 1/2 hour, the conversation eventually led to her sharing what she thought were the best restaurants in Milwaukee, one of them being Crazy Water. Ever since, I’ve been meaning to try Crazy Water and finally my husband and I decided to make the venture out there this past monday night. When I first walked in, I was hit with the aroma from the kitchen. However, it wasn’t coming from the back of the restaurant. Crazy Water's kitchen is located in the front for all to see. You can even see it from the street because it’s nestled in a bay window between the end of the bar and the front door, in a space only slightly larger than most people's cubicle. This home-style kitchen adds a lot to the cozy, candlelit atmosphere.The menu is not big, but offers enough variety with groupings of small plates ($8-$12), large plates ($12-$34), and sweets ($8-$9). We ordered more food than we normally do, but I wanted to make sure we had a decent sampling. We ended up sharing the chorizo stuffed medjool dates [wrapped in bacon and smothered in a chipotle sauce] ($10), yuzu marinated pork belly ($10), Niman Ranch flat iron steak [with frico caldo and a blue cheese fritter] ($26), and then finally a Door County cherry chocolate chip bread pudding ($9).Overall, the flavors were spot on. The steak was cooked to our order, the pork belly was tender, and even the blue cheese fritters were bursting with flavor. We also found the smokiness of the chipotle sauce that covered the dates to be a surprising touch (though I could have done without the bacon) and the cherries were a refreshing surprise in the bread pudding. Each dish was simply plated and the sauces were delicious. However, the only thing I cannot speak highly about was that our dishes were not served hot. It was almost as if they were made earlier and sat around too long (but not under a heat lamp). Either way, the service was good and I am looking forward to trying this place again. One comment on Foursquare mentions that this place should be kept a secret...well, the secret is out.

It was pretty dark in the restaurant, so I wasn't able to get great photos, but here is a sampling of our meal.